The President

[Deb]

I obtained this pen in a lot several years ago. It didn't look quite like anything but I had seen before. I was impressed by the quality of the black hard rubber which remained as dark and deeply patterned as it had ever been. At first glance, because of the slot in the barrel, I took it to be some form of coin filler but a little investigation proved that to be wrong. It is, in fact, a form of syringe filler. The piston is actuated by sliding the barrel ring back to fill the pen.



A tiny brass pin which you can see in the photograph holds the whole thing together. I didn't fancy tackling the removal of that pin so I sent it to Eric Wilson who fitted a cork seal and returned pen to working condition. At the time, Eric said "I would imagine there was quite a risk when putting the pen in your pocket of catching the barrel ring, pulling it up and squirting ink on yourself!"



Having done that, I tried to find out a bit more about the pen. The barrel is stamped, '"The President" Thos. Fattorini Skipton Ltd.' Fattorini & Sons has been around since the early 19th century, making sports trophies, badges and medals. An offshoot of the family, Thos Fattorini was incorporated in 1919 and pursued the same business.



It is still around today! I emailed the Birmingham sales team and wrote including a couple photos, enquiring whether they knew anything about this pen. In a few days, I received a reply from Greg Fattorini, Managing Director. Unfortunately he had no record of this particular pen but he told me that they had sold fountain pens in their jewellery shops. Some of the pens came from De La Rue, makers of the Onoto pen, others from Switzerland and some from the USA. Given the style of the pen, I think it most likely that it came from the USA.



I do love a pen with a story!

[penwash]

As a vintage pen nut, this story has it all for me, from the filler system that I've never seen before, the pen is back to working condition, and to top it all, a correspondence with the maker.

Thank you, Deb!

[Deb]

Thank you for your kind words. I've never seen another example of that filling system either, perhaps because of the fatal fault that Eric pointed out!

[penwash]

Thank you for your kind words. I've never seen another example of that filling system either, perhaps because of the fatal fault that Eric pointed out!

Well there you go. You may be the only owner of the one remaining example of that pen because the others were chucked into the bin after inking up countless shirts

[Deb]

Thank you for your kind words. I've never seen another example of that filling system either, perhaps because of the fatal fault that Eric pointed out!

Well there you go. You may be the only owner of the one remaining example of that pen because the others were chucked into the bin after inking up countless shirts

Could be!

[Seattleite]

I think that your pen is most likely a "Store Brand" version of this Wyvern.





Bob

[Sagebrush64]

Such a cool story. I think the history aspect is a big part of collecting vintage items....such as pens!
Thanks for sharing, and good work on your research!

[Deb]

I think that your pen is most likely a "Store Brand" version of this Wyvern.

Bob

I'm amazed! That really puts the whole story into a different perspective. Thank you very much!

[Deb]

Such a cool story. I think the history aspect is a big part of collecting vintage items....such as pens!
Thanks for sharing, and good work on your research!

Thank you. That's very much how I feel.

[Lester Pendragon]

I think that your pen is most likely a "Store Brand" version of this Wyvern.

Bob

I'm amazed! That really puts the whole story into a different perspective. Thank you very much!

-------------
…time passes…
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Just caught up with this – seems to be a link or image gone missing from Seattleite's post.

Can anyone update to actually identify *which* specific Wyvern model Seattleite was referring to?

Thanks in advance for any help in resolving this cliff-hanger…

Roger
[Lester Pendragon]

[Seattleite]

Hi Roger,

Just happened to be checking out FPG and thought that I recognized this post. My images disappeared some while back from FPG. I can tell you that the Wyvern pen that I have is pretty much identical, except for the inscription. Pretty sure the chasing pattern is the same. IIRC, it has a model number. I will have to dig it up from one of my "Foreign Pen" parts boxes, as it is missing the cap and nib. If I find it, I will see about getting it re-posted. Did Wyvern make it for Fattorini, or did some other entity make it for both of them?

Take care, Bob Merki

[Deb]

I think it highly likely that Wyvern made both theirs and the Fattorini versions. Just the sort of work they did.

[Lester Pendragon]

>I will have to dig it up from one of my "Foreign Pen" parts boxes

That would very helpful, thanks - and a pic [even without a cap] showing any inscription/model name/number and the filling system, would be doubly so…

I agree with Deb; Wyvern seem to have been fairly active in the promotional pens they made for other firms, though without any company records on either side one is frustratingly reduced to intuitive attributions.

Thanks for your help in restoring this thread…

Roger